10 Questions for Terrence Howard

He's still beaming over the early-morning revelation. Terrence Howard, 36, woke up last Tuesday to find that he had been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for Hustle & Flow and that another film in which he co-starred, Crash, was up for Best Picture. He spoke to TIME's Desa Philadelphia about portraying a pimp so convincingly and why his success in Hollywood has been bittersweet.

YOU ARE BEING CALLED AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS, BUT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING STEADILY FOR A LONG TIME. That's just the nature of this business. There are so many talented people here, and there are so many different...